chameleonn.

Brit.

/kəˈmiːlɪən/, U.S.

/kəˈmiljən/,

/kəˈmiliən/

Forms: (Middle English gamalian, gamelos, camle), Middle English–1800s camelion, 1500s chamælion, camallian, chamelæon), 1600s camelian, 1500s–1800s chamelion, cameleon, chamæleon, 1500s– chameleon. See also camelion n., camle n.

Etymology: < classical Latin chamaeleon < ancient Greek χαμαιλέων the chameleon, < χαμαί on the ground, dwarf + λέων a lion.The usual spelling down to the 19th cent. was camelion; cameleon being also common after 1700; in senses 3, 4 chamæleon is now frequent.

1. A saurian reptile of the genus Chamæleo, family Chamæleonidæ, small lizard-like creatures, distinguished by a prehensile tail, long tongue, eyes moving independently, and covered each with a single circular eyelid, but esp. by their power of changing the colour of the skin, ‘varying through different shades of yellow, red, gray, brown, and dull inky blue’ (Carpenter Zoology 1847). From their inanimate appearance, and power of existing for long periods without food, they were formerly supposed to live on air. These attributes made the name famous and familiar to many who knew nothing else of the animal.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > reptiles > order Squamata (lizards and snakes) > suborder Lacertilia (lizards) > [noun] > family Chamaeleonidae > member of (chameleon)

chameleon1340

camlec1400

tarand1641

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 62 Ase þe gamelos þet leueþ by þe eyr and naȝt ne heþ ine his roppes bote wynd, and heþ eche manere colour þet ne heþ non his oȝen.

1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 133 Lich unto the camelion, Whiche upon every sondry hewe That he beholt he mote newe His colour.

c1400 Mandeville's Trav. xxviii. 289 Manye Camles..He may chaunge him in to alle maner of coloures that him list, saf only in to red and white.

c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 151 A lyere is lykenyd to a bryd clepyd gamaltan [read gamalian]. þis bryd..wyl chaungyn hym to alle colourys þat he seeth.

1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 190 A straunge beast..a kynd of Chameleon.

1564 T. Palfreyman Baldwin's Treat. Moral Philos. (new ed.) vii. ix. f. 187^v As a cameleon [1557 camell] hathe all colours saue white, so hath a flatterer all poyntes, saue honestie.

1600 S. Rowlands Letting of Humors Blood xvii. 23 Can men feede like Camelions, on the ayer?

1603 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iii. ii. 90 King How now son Hamlet? Ham. Yfaith the Camelions dish, not capon cramm'd.

1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §360 A Chamelion is a Creature about the Bignesse of an Ordinary Lizard.. His Tongue of a marvellous Length in respect of his Body.

1648 Hunting of Fox 45 Camelions, which change with every object.

1700 J. Dryden tr. Ovid Of Pythagorean Philos. in Fables 526 The thin Camelion fed with Air, receives The colour of the Thing to which he cleaves.

1711 J. Swift Var. Thoughts in Misc. Prose & Verse 241 The Camelion who is said to Feed upon nothing but Air, hath of all Animals the nimblest Tongue.

1786 S. Henley tr. W. Beckford Arabian Tale 67 Carathis..like a cameleon, could assume all possible colours.

1820 P. B. Shelley Prometheus Unbound iv. i. 147 As a lover or a cameleon Grows like what it looks upon.

1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop i. xxxvi. 299 The..meagre aspect of the place would have killed a chamelion.

2. figurative (esp. = inconstant or variable person.)

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > change > changeableness > [noun] > changeable person or thing

weathercocka1300

wind?a1513

Proteus1528

chameleon1586

moon's man1598

vane1598

mooncalf1607

remover1609

tarand1641

inconstant1647

mutables1652

changeablea1711

kaleidoscope1819

phantasmagoria1822

palimpsest1845

variable1846

the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [noun] > inconstant person or thing

Proteus1528

chameleon1586

inconstant1647

1586–7 King James VI Let. 26 Jan. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) III. 21 I praye you not to takk me to be a Camelion.

1606 T. Dekker Seuen Deadly Sinnes London i. sig. B2^v The Politick Bankrupt is..a Cameleon, that can put himselfe into all colours.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) ii. i. 162 Though the Cameleon Loue can feed on the ayre.

1616 J. Bullokar Eng. Expositor (at cited word) Men that are inconstant and fickle are sometimes called Chameleons.

1797 W. Godwin Enquirer i. v. 33 I find myself a sort of intellectual camelion.

1855 J. L. Motley Rise Dutch Republic I. ii. i. 248 He was a chameleon to the hand which fed him..he colored himself, as it were, with the King's character.

3. Botany. The name of two plants: white chameleon n. Carlina gummifera. black chameleon n. Cardopatium corymbosum.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Compositae (composite plants) > [noun] > thistles

thistlec725

carduea1398

wolf's-thistlea1400

cardoona1425

wolf-thistle1526

cotton-thistle1548

gum-thistle1548

oat thistle1548

black chameleon1551

ixia1551

Saint Mary thistle1552

milk thistle1562

cow-thistle1565

bedeguar1578

carline1578

silver thistle1578

white chameleon1578

globe thistle1582

ball thistle1597

down thistle1597

friar's crown1597

lady's thistle1597

gummy thistle1598

man's blood1601

musk thistle1633

melancholy thistle1653

Scotch thistle1660

boar-thistle1714

spear- thistle1753

gentle thistle1760

woolly thistle1760

wool-thistle1769

bur-thistlea1796

Canada thistle1796

pine thistle1807

plume thistle1814

melancholy plume thistle1825

woolly-headed thistle1843

dog thistle1845

dwarf thistle1846

welted thistle1846

pixie glove1858

Mexican thistle1866

Syrian thistle1866

bull thistle1878

fish belly1878

fish-bone-thistle1882

green thistle1882

herringbone thistle1884

Californian thistle1891

winged thistle1915

fish-thistles-

1551 W. Turner New Herball sig. H iv It hath leues of chameleon, or blacker then the whyte thystel and thycker.

1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iv. lvii. 517 Of the Thistel Chameleon..Chamæleon is of two sortes, the white and the blacke.

1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 124 The reason why this herb is named Chamæleon, is by occasion of the variable leaues which it beareth.

1673 J. Ray Observ. Journey Low-countries (1738) II. 194 The black Chamælion with its handsome blue colour'd tops.

1712 J. Browne tr. P. Pomet et al. Compl. Hist. Druggs I. 41 The White Chameleon or Little Chardon.

4. Astronomy. One of the southern circumpolar constellations, lying between Apus and Mensa.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the universe > constellation > Southern constellations > [noun] > Chameleon

chameleon1835

1835 Penny Cycl. IV. 66/2 The following is the list of Bayer's constellations..Hydrus, Chameleon, Apis.

5. Chemistry. chameleon mineral [compare French caméléon minéral] , a name given to manganate of potassium (K₂MnO₄), the solution of which in water changes colour, on exposure to the air, from deep green to deep purple, owing to the formation of the permanganate (KMnO₄); = mineral chameleon n. at mineral adj. Compounds 1.

ΚΠ

1816 F. Accum Pract. Ess. Chem. Re-agents (1818) 461 The cameleon is evidently formed of potash and oxide of manganese.

1866 H. E. Roscoe Lessons Elem. Chem. xxi. 190 Hence its common name of mineral chamelion.

1873 A. W. Williamson Chem. for Students (ed. 3) §194 This change of colour obtained for the salt the name mineral chameleon.

Compounds

C1. Simple attributive, as chameleon fare, chameleon hue.

C2. quasi-adj. Resembling the chameleon, chameleon-like.

ΚΠ

1687 J. Dryden Hind & Panther iii. 117 Conscience is then your Plea..But yours is much of the Cameleon hew, To change the dye with ev'ry diff'rent view.

1793 T. Holcroft tr. J. C. Lavater Ess. Physiognomy (abridged ed.) xxix. 143 Such cameleon minds can be at one moment great, at another contemptible.

1837 N. Hawthorne Twice-told Tales (1842) 419 A chameleon spirit, with no hue of its own.

1840 T. Hood Miss Kilmansegg i, in New Monthly Mag. 60 86 Her very first draught of vital air It was not the common chameleon fare.

1856 D. M. Mulock John Halifax II. viii. 184 Her chameleon power of seizing and sunning herself in the delight of the moment.

C3.

chameleon fly n. a dipterous insect, Stratiomys chamæleon.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Diptera or flies > [noun] > suborder Brachycera > family Stratiomyidae > stratiomys chamaeleon

chameleon fly1803

1803 W. Bingley Animal Biogr. III. 410 The Chamæleon Fly..is one of our most common two-winged insects.

chameleon grass n. the striped variety of Phalaris arundinacea or other grasses.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > [noun] > phalaris grasses

grass corn1548

phalaris1548

Canary seed1578

Canary grass1597

chameleon grass1597

lady's laces1597

painted grass1597

sword-grass1598

silver grass1600

Canary1723

reed canary grass1762

ribbon grass1786

gardener's garters1820

dagger-grass1834

daggers1847

bride's laces1854

canary reed1884

1597 J. Gerard Herball i. 25 Gramen striatum, or Gramen pictum: in English the Furrowed grasse, the White Chameleon grasse, or straked grasse.

chameleon moth n. a South African noctuid moth, Actæa chamæleon, of extreme variability in colour.

chameleon silk n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > made from silk > [noun] > types of > shot

chameleon silk1848

Batavia1907

1848 in T. Graham Chem. Rep. & Mem. 230 The shot silk stuffs known as chameleon silks.

chameleon tulle n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > made from silk > [noun] > types of > thin or light weight

sendala1225

silk chiffon1530

silk gauze1530

silk jersey1530

patola1605

China silk1614

China-crape1813

senshaw1817

tullec1818

zephyrine1820

mousseline de soie1850

lisse1852

illusion1857

sendaline1866

crêpe de chine1872

louisine1882

chameleon tulle1896

météor1908

1896 Daily News 14 Nov. 6/5 One of the latest novelties in ball dresses is the chameleon tulle, composed of veils of different colours laid over each other.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	chameleon
释义	chameleonn. Brit. /kəˈmiːlɪən/, U.S. /kəˈmiljən/, /kəˈmiliən/ Forms: (Middle English gamalian, gamelos, camle), Middle English–1800s camelion, 1500s chamælion, camallian, chamelæon), 1600s camelian, 1500s–1800s chamelion, cameleon, chamæleon, 1500s– chameleon. See also camelion n., camle n. Etymology: < classical Latin chamaeleon < ancient Greek χαμαιλέων the chameleon, < χαμαί on the ground, dwarf + λέων a lion.The usual spelling down to the 19th cent. was camelion; cameleon being also common after 1700; in senses 3, 4 chamæleon is now frequent. 1. A saurian reptile of the genus Chamæleo, family Chamæleonidæ, small lizard-like creatures, distinguished by a prehensile tail, long tongue, eyes moving independently, and covered each with a single circular eyelid, but esp. by their power of changing the colour of the skin, ‘varying through different shades of yellow, red, gray, brown, and dull inky blue’ (Carpenter Zoology 1847). From their inanimate appearance, and power of existing for long periods without food, they were formerly supposed to live on air. These attributes made the name famous and familiar to many who knew nothing else of the animal. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > reptiles > order Squamata (lizards and snakes) > suborder Lacertilia (lizards) > [noun] > family Chamaeleonidae > member of (chameleon) chameleon1340 camlec1400 tarand1641 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 62 Ase þe gamelos þet leueþ by þe eyr and naȝt ne heþ ine his roppes bote wynd, and heþ eche manere colour þet ne heþ non his oȝen. 1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 133 Lich unto the camelion, Whiche upon every sondry hewe That he beholt he mote newe His colour. c1400 Mandeville's Trav. xxviii. 289 Manye Camles..He may chaunge him in to alle maner of coloures that him list, saf only in to red and white. c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 151 A lyere is lykenyd to a bryd clepyd gamaltan [read gamalian]. þis bryd..wyl chaungyn hym to alle colourys þat he seeth. 1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 190 A straunge beast..a kynd of Chameleon. 1564 T. Palfreyman Baldwin's Treat. Moral Philos. (new ed.) vii. ix. f. 187^v As a cameleon [1557 camell] hathe all colours saue white, so hath a flatterer all poyntes, saue honestie. 1600 S. Rowlands Letting of Humors Blood xvii. 23 Can men feede like Camelions, on the ayer? 1603 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iii. ii. 90 King How now son Hamlet? Ham. Yfaith the Camelions dish, not capon cramm'd. 1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §360 A Chamelion is a Creature about the Bignesse of an Ordinary Lizard.. His Tongue of a marvellous Length in respect of his Body. 1648 Hunting of Fox 45 Camelions, which change with every object. 1700 J. Dryden tr. Ovid Of Pythagorean Philos. in Fables 526 The thin Camelion fed with Air, receives The colour of the Thing to which he cleaves. 1711 J. Swift Var. Thoughts in Misc. Prose & Verse 241 The Camelion who is said to Feed upon nothing but Air, hath of all Animals the nimblest Tongue. 1786 S. Henley tr. W. Beckford Arabian Tale 67 Carathis..like a cameleon, could assume all possible colours. 1820 P. B. Shelley Prometheus Unbound iv. i. 147 As a lover or a cameleon Grows like what it looks upon. 1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop i. xxxvi. 299 The..meagre aspect of the place would have killed a chamelion. 2. figurative (esp. = inconstant or variable person.) ΘΚΠ the world > time > change > changeableness > [noun] > changeable person or thing weathercocka1300 wind?a1513 Proteus1528 chameleon1586 moon's man1598 vane1598 mooncalf1607 remover1609 tarand1641 inconstant1647 mutables1652 changeablea1711 kaleidoscope1819 phantasmagoria1822 palimpsest1845 variable1846 the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [noun] > inconstant person or thing Proteus1528 chameleon1586 inconstant1647 1586–7 King James VI Let. 26 Jan. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) III. 21 I praye you not to takk me to be a Camelion. 1606 T. Dekker Seuen Deadly Sinnes London i. sig. B2^v The Politick Bankrupt is..a Cameleon, that can put himselfe into all colours. a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) ii. i. 162 Though the Cameleon Loue can feed on the ayre. 1616 J. Bullokar Eng. Expositor (at cited word) Men that are inconstant and fickle are sometimes called Chameleons. 1797 W. Godwin Enquirer i. v. 33 I find myself a sort of intellectual camelion. 1855 J. L. Motley Rise Dutch Republic I. ii. i. 248 He was a chameleon to the hand which fed him..he colored himself, as it were, with the King's character. 3. Botany. The name of two plants: white chameleon n. Carlina gummifera. black chameleon n. Cardopatium corymbosum. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Compositae (composite plants) > [noun] > thistles thistlec725 carduea1398 wolf's-thistlea1400 cardoona1425 wolf-thistle1526 cotton-thistle1548 gum-thistle1548 oat thistle1548 black chameleon1551 ixia1551 Saint Mary thistle1552 milk thistle1562 cow-thistle1565 bedeguar1578 carline1578 silver thistle1578 white chameleon1578 globe thistle1582 ball thistle1597 down thistle1597 friar's crown1597 lady's thistle1597 gummy thistle1598 man's blood1601 musk thistle1633 melancholy thistle1653 Scotch thistle1660 boar-thistle1714 spear- thistle1753 gentle thistle1760 woolly thistle1760 wool-thistle1769 bur-thistlea1796 Canada thistle1796 pine thistle1807 plume thistle1814 melancholy plume thistle1825 woolly-headed thistle1843 dog thistle1845 dwarf thistle1846 welted thistle1846 pixie glove1858 Mexican thistle1866 Syrian thistle1866 bull thistle1878 fish belly1878 fish-bone-thistle1882 green thistle1882 herringbone thistle1884 Californian thistle1891 winged thistle1915 fish-thistles- 1551 W. Turner New Herball sig. H iv It hath leues of chameleon, or blacker then the whyte thystel and thycker. 1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iv. lvii. 517 Of the Thistel Chameleon..Chamæleon is of two sortes, the white and the blacke. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 124 The reason why this herb is named Chamæleon, is by occasion of the variable leaues which it beareth. 1673 J. Ray Observ. Journey Low-countries (1738) II. 194 The black Chamælion with its handsome blue colour'd tops. 1712 J. Browne tr. P. Pomet et al. Compl. Hist. Druggs I. 41 The White Chameleon or Little Chardon. 4. Astronomy. One of the southern circumpolar constellations, lying between Apus and Mensa. ΘΚΠ the world > the universe > constellation > Southern constellations > [noun] > Chameleon chameleon1835 1835 Penny Cycl. IV. 66/2 The following is the list of Bayer's constellations..Hydrus, Chameleon, Apis. 5. Chemistry. chameleon mineral [compare French caméléon minéral] , a name given to manganate of potassium (K₂MnO₄), the solution of which in water changes colour, on exposure to the air, from deep green to deep purple, owing to the formation of the permanganate (KMnO₄); = mineral chameleon n. at mineral adj. Compounds 1. ΚΠ 1816 F. Accum Pract. Ess. Chem. Re-agents (1818) 461 The cameleon is evidently formed of potash and oxide of manganese. 1866 H. E. Roscoe Lessons Elem. Chem. xxi. 190 Hence its common name of mineral chamelion. 1873 A. W. Williamson Chem. for Students (ed. 3) §194 This change of colour obtained for the salt the name mineral chameleon. Compounds C1. Simple attributive, as chameleon fare, chameleon hue. C2. quasi-adj. Resembling the chameleon, chameleon-like. ΚΠ 1687 J. Dryden Hind & Panther iii. 117 Conscience is then your Plea..But yours is much of the Cameleon hew, To change the dye with ev'ry diff'rent view. 1793 T. Holcroft tr. J. C. Lavater Ess. Physiognomy (abridged ed.) xxix. 143 Such cameleon minds can be at one moment great, at another contemptible. 1837 N. Hawthorne Twice-told Tales (1842) 419 A chameleon spirit, with no hue of its own. 1840 T. Hood Miss Kilmansegg i, in New Monthly Mag. 60 86 Her very first draught of vital air It was not the common chameleon fare. 1856 D. M. Mulock John Halifax II. viii. 184 Her chameleon power of seizing and sunning herself in the delight of the moment. C3. chameleon fly n. a dipterous insect, Stratiomys chamæleon. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Diptera or flies > [noun] > suborder Brachycera > family Stratiomyidae > stratiomys chamaeleon chameleon fly1803 1803 W. Bingley Animal Biogr. III. 410 The Chamæleon Fly..is one of our most common two-winged insects. chameleon grass n. the striped variety of Phalaris arundinacea or other grasses. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > [noun] > phalaris grasses grass corn1548 phalaris1548 Canary seed1578 Canary grass1597 chameleon grass1597 lady's laces1597 painted grass1597 sword-grass1598 silver grass1600 Canary1723 reed canary grass1762 ribbon grass1786 gardener's garters1820 dagger-grass1834 daggers1847 bride's laces1854 canary reed1884 1597 J. Gerard Herball i. 25 Gramen striatum, or Gramen pictum: in English the Furrowed grasse, the White Chameleon grasse, or straked grasse. chameleon moth n. a South African noctuid moth, Actæa chamæleon, of extreme variability in colour. chameleon silk n. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > made from silk > [noun] > types of > shot chameleon silk1848 Batavia1907 1848 in T. Graham Chem. Rep. & Mem. 230 The shot silk stuffs known as chameleon silks. chameleon tulle n. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > made from silk > [noun] > types of > thin or light weight sendala1225 silk chiffon1530 silk gauze1530 silk jersey1530 patola1605 China silk1614 China-crape1813 senshaw1817 tullec1818 zephyrine1820 mousseline de soie1850 lisse1852 illusion1857 sendaline1866 crêpe de chine1872 louisine1882 chameleon tulle1896 météor1908 1896 Daily News 14 Nov. 6/5 One of the latest novelties in ball dresses is the chameleon tulle, composed of veils of different colours laid over each other. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online March 2022). chameleonv. Etymology: < chameleon n. transitive. To cause to change its hue like a chameleon.Apparently an isolated use. ΚΠ 1885 G. Meredith Diana of Crossways I. i. 18 This lady did not ‘chameleon’ her pen from the colour of her audience. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online September 2019). < n.1340v.1885
随便看	with foal with force with force and arms with force of arms with friends like ——, who needs enemies? with full eye, arm, etc with full mien with full mouth with full or all one's steam on with full sail with full sails with full will with gay abandon with god with god to friend with god's assistance with god's blessing with god's grace with god's help with good cheer with good grace with good or malicious intent with goodwill with great advice with great course

chameleonn.

Compounds

chameleonv.